Experts are full of valuable knowledge and are ready to help with any question. Credentials confirmed by a Fortune 500 verification firm.

Get a Professional Answer

Via email, text message, or notification as you wait on our site. Ask follow up questions if you need to.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

Rate the answer you receive.

Ask Dr. Kara Your Own Question

Dr. Kara, Veterinarian

Category: Dog

Satisfied Customers: 17285

Experience: Over 20 years of experience as a veterinarian.

49838867

Type Your Dog Question Here...

Dr. Kara is online now

A cross breed Staff/XXXXX XXXXX approx six years old. Recently

Resolved Question:

A cross breed Staff/XXXXX XXXXX approx six years old. Recently had a cold/Flu, plenty of nasal discharge, now free of ailment. She has been loosing weight over a period of 5 weeks, now very skinny,eats well,drinks copious amount of water, has become extremely weak.

Hello, my name isXXXXX and I have over 20 years of experience as a veterinarian.I am sorry to hear that Tess has lost a significant amount of weight even though she is eating well for you. Coupled with her increased water consumption and now weakness I would be highly suspicious that Tess has developed diabetes. Diabetic dogs are certainly more prone to picking up secondary infections, such as an upper respiratory infection, and they lose weight because they are unable to use the calories they are eating due to their lack of insulin which carries glucose into the cells for energy. The excess blood sugar is spilled over into the urine via the kidneys and excess fluid loss follows, causing them to drink more water.

Dogs in almost every case are insulin dependent diabetics, so she needs to see her veterinarian for some blood and urine tests and if she is diabetic, get started on insulin. While higher fiber diets help regulate blood glucose levels by slowing absorption of nutrients so there isn't a blood glucose spike, diet alone cannot be used to control diabetes in dogs.

Other possibilities, though less common in a younger dog, are cancer which can burn calories because of a tumor's higher metabolic rate and cause increased water consumption, or primary intestinal disease which interferes with the digestion and absorption of food and thus leads to weight loss. Both would lead to weakness because her body isn't getting the calories it needs.

There isn't much to be done for Tess at home except make sure she has plenty of fresh water to drink. She needs hands on veterinary care as soon as possible.Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Ask a Dog Veterinarian

Get a Professional Answer. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

3 Dog Veterinarians are Online Now

Type Your Dog Question Here...

characters left:

Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.